At the end of November, the 2019-20 Columbus Blue Jackets had 11 wins, 11 losses with four overtime losses and sat 24th in league standings. The Blue Jackets’ success has come since Dec. 1. They have had the second-best record in league with 19 wins, six losses and five overtime losses during that time. They now sit in the third spot in the Metropolitan Division with 69 points.
Columbus wasn’t expected to be playing this well. The losses of free agents Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky, Matt Duchene, and Ryan Dzingel were believed to be too much to overcome. Especially with their only significant off-season acquisition being Gustav Nyquist.
Columbus realized that they wouldn’t be winning many games with their offence and they haven’t. Strong defensive play, goaltending and a next-man-up attitude has allowed them to be in the playoff race.
2019-20 Columbus Blue Jackets Defence and Goaltending is the Backbone of the Team
The Blue Jackets are a tough team to score on. They have allowed 135 goals, which is the second-fewest in the league, and have the ninth best penalty kill. A lot of the attention has been on the play of their two goalies, Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins. They definitely deserve credit. No one has been hotter than Merzlikins, who has five shutouts during his eight-game win streak. But the low goals against has been an entire team effort. The players are playing great defensively, and the goalies are bailing them out when the situation calls for it.
The Blue Jackets allow the fifth-fewest shots-on-goal with allowing on average 29.8 a game. That is a good number for the goalies. It allows them to stay sharp but it is not enough shots to exhaust them. Columbus also allows the second-fewest high danger scoring chances. They have been shorthanded the second-fewest amount of times in the league, which lends itself to giving up fewer opportunities.
Solid in the Net
But when a big save is required, Merzlikins is up to the task. Out of 59 goalies who have played over 800 minutes (all goalie stats in the article are based off that same pool), Merzlikins is second among high danger chance save percentage. Korpisalo is 29th in that category.
In general, Korpisalo and Merzlikins don’t face a lot of difficult shots. They are tenth and 19th in the league on the average distance per shot, so they’re stopping shots that are further from the net for most goalies.
Both goalies have stepped up when they need to. Merzlikins has a save percentage of .930 and a goals-against-average of 2.19. His save percentage is the best in the league. Korpisalo has a .913 save percentage and 2.49 goals-against-average. The combination of strong goaltending and favourable shots is what has allowed the Korpisalo-Merzlikns tandem to be great.
In Elvis Merzlikins‘s case, Nationwide Arena is built on the site of the Ohio Penitentiary. So Elvis is definitely doing the Jailhouse Rock.
Next Man Up
The next man up motto was always going to be the theme of the season. With so many high-end free agents leaving, Columbus was going to have to win with other players stepping up. More obvious candidates like Pierre-Luc Dubois, Zach Werenski, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Gustav Nyquist have been having some of the best seasons of their careers. However, Columbus didn’t expect players like Nathan Gerbe, Vladislav Gavrikov, Alexandre Texier, Eric Robinson, Dean Kukan, and Emil Bemstrom to be important depth players.
Gerbe has eight points in 20 games, Gavrikov is fourth among defenceman in total ice-time, Texier and Robinson are two of four forwards with a corsi percentage above 50. At the same time, Kukan is the only defenceman who is above 50 in that category. Bemstrom is providing solid scoring depth with 13 points in 42 games. The Blue Jackets’ success would not be possible without the contributions from these players.
Offence Has Not Been Great But it is Good Enough
The one area of Columbus’s team that has not outperformed expectations is their offence. Their 147 goals for is 25th in the league and their 16.9 power play percentage is 24th. However, 21 of their 30 wins this season have been on a lead of two goals or less, so they are receiving timely scoring.
Dubois is now the top forward for the Blue Jackets. He leads the team with 42 points in 56 games. Nyqvist has 35 points and has fit in nicely on this team. Werenski has 17 goals, which leads all NHL defencemen. Bjorkstrand has 29 points in 43 games, and he has become a top-six scorer.
They have needed those performances because there have been disappointing seasons. Boone Jenner only has 19 points in 56 games, and Josh Anderson has four points in 26 games. Neither of those players are supposed to be primary scorers but are expected to produce quality secondary scoring. Cam Atkinson also has 26 points in 44 games. That is an alright pace but still lower than what is expected from him.
Columbus is in the middle of a playoff battle right now, so they will need their offence to either stay at the same pace or pick it up a little bit to give themselves the best chance of making the playoffs.
Outlook for the Rest of the 2019-20 Columbus Blue Jackets Season
Speaking of playoffs, the Blue Jackets along with the Islanders, Hurricanes and Flyers are only separated by two points for the third spot in the Metropolitan Division. Just like last year, it will be a battle for Columbus to make the playoffs. Good thing they are the only NHL team with actual artillery.
If they do make the playoffs, they will not be an easy team to face. Their tight defensive play, strong goaltending and ability to win close games will be an asset for them in the postseason. Those qualities have led to the Blue Jackets’ success in the regular season, so opposing teams should not take them lightly.
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